What grade would you give Gophers coaches in loss to PSU?

[BilldGopher]

Just heard on KFAN that PJ is 8 and 24 in Big Ten games against teams with winning records. If true, I don’t know what to make of that.

Sounds about like the performance of a middle-of-the-pack program...

The counter-statistic would be performance against teams with losing records.

 

[walrus]

I gave it an A because of the total TEAM effort of the players, coaches and the coach against the number 4 at the time ranked play-off team this late in the season. Stinking PSU was playing for their freaking post season lives and all game long this Gopher Team had them on their cake-eating, “blue blooded” football royalty asses on the playing field. Their players and coaches and their coach all were really up against it.

No moral victory here. A loss is a loss.

But…That’s the way it goes. Just think about ALL the bitches the PSU fans must have about the screw-ups that team from Happy Valley made all game long and how unprepared their play-0ff contenders were against a 6-4 B1G team from Minnesota?

In the end, some other team will have to be the team to give the PSU fans a reason to bitch about one play to get all snarky about on their fan messsge board. And so it goes…

Beat the stinking badger, Gopher!

 

[cncmin]

I’ve only seen the highlights but my buddies tell me that everybody in America except for PJ knew the fake was coming and for us to get gashed in the situation like that for 32 yards was inexcusable. If that’s the case, then I don’t know how we can give as many A’s and Bs as I see here.

In any 4th any short situation I would ALWaYS play safe. If they punt and you don’t catch it, so what?

 

[upnorthkid]

Just heard on KFAN that PJ is 8 and 24 in Big Ten games against teams with winning records. If true, I don’t know what to make of that.

I wouldn't make much of it
your record against winning opponents always drops significantly (even for the likes of Day who has next to no losses) and he's around .500 overall in the B10 so would expect that he should be around here

 

[MGGopher]

Agree with most: Solid B.

1. Second most points scored on PSU in conference play - including more than OSU.
2. Defense held two incredible RBs under 100 yards when they’d been averaging 200.
3. STs by far the best game of the year IMO (minus the fake punt…argh). Two blocked kicks, perfect on FGs/XPs, all punts fielded, no yards lost on kick return that I remember.

Awesome gameplan to keep them honest by running into lighter boxes despite knowing it would be tough. That opened up so much in the passing game - esp the middle of the field - despite MNs inability to get deep. Defense obviously committed completely to stopping the run and did an awesome job of it. Gave up too much in the air, but you have to pick your poison. They were excellent on 3rd down all night and harassed Allar into a lot of bad throws.

Sad they couldn’t come away with the win, but that was a really well-coached game. The turnovers and inability to get a stop on 4th down late were the difference in an otherwise TOTALLY even matchup against a playoff team.

 

[Ewert86PC]

B. Pretty good. O Line was improved. Run game worked.

Yes. The O Line looked vastly better than the previous game.

 

[everybody knows my name]

B+ if it was an option, and I don't even like Fleck. But it's hard to argue with a 1-pt loss against the 5th ranked team, coming in 9-1.

PSU left with a trophy and a win, but they were bleeding.

 

[EG#9]

I went with a B, but I could see arguments for an A or a C. My biggest gripe is not being in punt safe on PSU's last possession. With as conservative as PJ is, I just can't believe he didn't leave his big guys out on the field. We were going to try to drain the clock and kick a fg anyway, so a few yards of field position really didn't matter. The second annoyance was the defense not being set for the 4th and 1 conversion at the 2 minute mark that essentially ended the game. We had zero chance to stop that play because we weren't ready which is unacceptable. On offense, the trick play on 2nd down didn't bother me as much as the run up the middle on first down. That was basically a wasted play with how easily PSU was bottling up the inside all day. I didn't mind kicking the field goal when it 4th and goal from the 8, but I HATED that we got to that point by only throwing one ball in to the end zone.

On the positive side, I was impressed the team was ready to play after the debacle at Rutgers. In college football 6-4 teams don't have a lot to play for, but PJ got a great effort out of his guys. I was also impressed that they came out and scored first in the second half after that ridiculous PI penalty late in the 2nd quarter. We've seen many a Gopher team get a bad break and fold from that moment on and that wasn't the case on Saturday.

 

[BilldGopher]

On the positive side, I was impressed the team was ready to play after the debacle at Rutgers. In college football 6-4 teams don't have a lot to play for, but PJ got a great effort out of his guys. I was also impressed that they came out and scored first in the second half after that ridiculous PI penalty late in the 2nd quarter. We've seen many a Gopher team get a bad break and fold from that moment on and that wasn't the case on Saturday.

That PI call is arguably one of the worst calls for any game this season. Almost as impactful to the final outcome as the offsides call in the Michigan game onside kick. That PI flag should have been overruled, pulled, and put back in the ref's pocket.

 

[STPGopher]

That PI call is arguably one of the worst calls for any game this season. Almost as impactful to the final outcome as the offsides call in the Michigan game onside kick. That PI flag should have been overruled, pulled, and put back in the ref's pocket.

Especially since they didn't call targeting on the hit to our receiver. I understand that the player slid up, but he lead with his head down.